1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments generally relate to a sheet cutter and an image forming apparatus including the sheet cutter, for example, for cutting a laminated sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related-art image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction printer having at least one of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions, typically forms a high-quality glossy image on a sheet by electrophotography.
One example of such image forming apparatus includes a sheet adhering device for forming an adhesion sheet by adhering a transparent sheet bearing a mirror image formed by electrophotography to a white sheet, in such a manner that the transparent sheet and the white sheet sandwich the mirror image.
Usually, the transparent sheet is manually adhered to the white sheet by spraying an adhesive onto a surface of the transparent sheet bearing the mirror image. Therefore, when the transparent sheet and the white sheet have different sizes or when the transparent sheet and the white sheet are not precisely overlaid, edges of the transparent sheet and the white sheet may be misaligned.
Currently, there is market demand for an image forming apparatus capable of providing a borderless sheet bearing a photographic image. However, the related-art image forming apparatus using electrophotography forms a toner image in a particular area of a sheet that is defined by predetermined edge margins. Consequently, it may be difficult for such an apparatus to form a borderless photographic image.
To accommodate such demand, a sheet cutter may be connected to the image forming apparatus. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a sheet cutter 40R as one example of such sheet cutter. The sheet cutter 40R includes a blade 38R for cutting an adhesion sheet 200. The adhesion sheet 200 is formed by adhering a first sheet 100 to a second sheet 91. The first sheet 100 is transparent and bears a mirror image 100A (e.g., a toner image). The second sheet 91 (e.g., a white sheet) is non-transparent and includes a base layer 91A and an adhesive layer 91B. The first sheet 100 and the second sheet 91 are attached to each other in such a manner that the mirror image 100A on the first sheet 100 opposes the adhesive layer 91B of the second sheet 91. A blade edge 38RA of the blade 38R contacts and cuts the adhesion sheet 200.
FIG. 1A illustrates the blade 38R and the adhesion sheet 200 immediately before the blade 38R cuts the adhesion sheet 200. FIG. 1B illustrates the blade 38R and the adhesion sheet 200 when the blade 38R cuts the adhesion sheet 200.
It is important to note that the first sheet 100 and the second sheet 91 sandwich layers having different material properties (e.g., hardnesses), specifically, the hard mirror image 100A and the soft adhesive layer 91B. Therefore, when the blade 38R cuts a border of the adhesion sheet 200, the soft adhesive layer 91B may be deformed, possibly causing toner particles to drop from the mirror image 100A or cracking the mirror image 100A. Moreover, the first sheet 100 may separate from the second sheet 91.
Obviously, such cracked mirror image 100A and separation of the first sheet 100 from the second sheet 91 are undesirable, and accordingly, there is a need for a technology to provide an adhesion sheet 200 bearing a high-quality glossy image and having clean-cut edges.